Sean Ryan (American football coach)


Sean Ryan is an American football coach and former player. He is currently the quarterbacks coach for the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. Ryan is considered by many NFL insiders to be one of the best up-and-coming offensive coaches in the league and is often cited for his development of young players.

Early life and education

A native of Hudson Falls, New York, Ryan was a standout football, basketball, and baseball player at Hudson Falls High School.
Ryan played safety and outside linebacker at Hamilton College, where he graduated in 1994 with a degree in American studies. He also earned a master's degree in higher education administration from University at Albany.

College coaching career

Ryan began his coaching career in 1997 as a Quarterbacks coach at Siena College in Loudonville, NY. He then moved on to become a Graduate Assistant at the University of Albany from 1998-1999.
Ryan was the running backs coach at Colgate University in 2000
Ryan spent two years as a graduate assistant at Boston College, where he worked primarily with the wide receivers. The Eagles won bowl games in each of those seasons, beating Georgia in the 2001 Music City Bowl and Toledo in the 2002 Motor City Bowl.
Ryan was as an assistant coach at Columbia University for three seasons. In 2003 and 2004, Ryan was the running backs coach and special teams coordinator. The following season, Ryan coached was promoted to quarterbacks coach.
In 2006, Ryan was the recruiting coordinator, running backs coach and head coach of the junior varsity squad at Harvard University.

NFL coaching career

New York Giants

Offensive Assistant and Super Bowl (2007–2010)

After his time at Harvard, Ryan joined Tom Coughlin's staff as an offensive quality control coach. In Ryan's first year with the Giants, the team secured the third Super Bowl victory in team history when the Giant's upset the unbeaten 2007 New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, earning his first Super Bowl Ring.

Wide Receivers Coach and second Super Bowl (2010–2011)

In 2010, Ryan was promoted to Wide Receivers coach, a position he held for two seasons.
During his first stint as wide receiver's coach, Ryan is credited with the development of star players such as Hakeem Nicks, Mario Manningham and undrafted free agent Victor Cruz.
In 2011, the unit helped the Giants set a franchise record with 4,734 net passing yards en route to the team's second Super Bowl in four years when the Giants defeated the Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI.

Quarterbacks Coach (2012–2014)

In 2012, he was promoted to Giants' quarterback coach and was put in charge of 2002 first overall pick David Carr and two-time Super Bowl MVP and 2004 first overall pick, Eli Manning.
In Ryan's first year as Quarterback coach, Giant's Quarterback Eli Manning finished the season with 26 touchdown passes, 15 interceptions, and 3,948 passing yards and made the 2012 Pro Bowl.

Second stint as Wide Receivers Coach (2014–2015)

In 2014, Ryan was reassigned to coach the wide receivers when Ben McAdoo was named the offensive coordinator after Kevin Gilbride's retirement.
The Giants drafted Odell Beckham Jr twelfth overall in the 2014 out of LSU. Ryan was instrumental in the rapid development of Beckham Jr., who shattered all franchise rookie records with 91 passes for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns. Under Ryan's tutelage, Beckham was selected to the 2015 Pro Bowl, the Associated Press’ Offensive Rookie of the Year and was also awarded the 2014 Pro Football Writers NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award.

Houston Texans (2016–2018)

On January 15, 2016, Ryan was hired to be the Houston Texans Wide Receiver Coach.
On January 18, 2017, Ryan was promoted to Quarterbacks Coach for the Texans.

Detroit Lions (2019–present)

On January 29, 2019, Ryan was hired to be the Detroit Lions Quarterbacks Coach.